The brand represents a combination of assets, designed to identify the products or services of the company, as well as indicate its key differences from competitors. The brand defines the manufacturer or supplier of goods and identifies the manufacturer or seller. Let’s consider an example of a carbonated drink Coke, which can be produced by any manufacturer, in contrast to Coca-Cola, entitled to be produced exclusively by Coca-Cola Company.

Creating branded products is a well-established phenomenon (although during the last century, this art has been considerable development). Legal systems recognise the trademark ownership in the most literal sense of the word. Currently, the legal frameworks on trademarks have been established in more than 160 countries around the world; allowing brand owners using the trademark registration procedure to claim their rights to this brand and logo. However, unlike other intellectual property forms (such as patents or rights to reprint) trademark in some countries does not have a limited validity period, i.e. the owner has the exclusive right to use it indefinitely.

Brands represent a certain set of properties, benefits and services. A brand serves markings tangible emblem of informing specific information about the product. The leading brands often carry a guarantee of quality. Brand can carry up to 4 crucial values.

Product/service properties

First of all, brand brings associations of certain characteristics of goods. For example, Mercedes trademark assumes it is the property of the goods designated as ‘well-designed’, ‘reliable’, ‘very prestigious’, ’expensive’, and etc. The manufacturer can use one or more of the properties in the advertising of their cars. For long years, Mercedes Benz concern advertised its goods accordingly (‘Designed like no other car in the world’). And this statement provided a starting platform for positioning of other features of the vehicle.

Benefits

Customers don’t buy properties, but benefits. It follows that the properties necessary to introduce functional and emotional benefits. Thus, such property as ‘reliable’ can be described as functional benefits like: “There’s no need to change a car each 2-3 years’. An ‘expensiveness’ can be described as emotional benefit: ‘I feel respectable in this car’. The ‘solidly-crafted’ can be represented as both functional and emotional benefits like: ‘I’m not afraid of constant expenses on repairings’.

Value

In addition, the brand carries information about the value system for the consumer. For example, the buyer of the Mercedes appreciates it excellent performance, safety and prestige. Thus, the tendency of growing technological brands is gaining momentum: scientists produce valuable technologies that are commercialised by the appropriate enterprises. Here’s is a demonstrative example: the University of Manchester has established UMIP, the branch concentrated on commercialisation and intellectual property management.

Individuality

In addition to the above, the brand is a reflection of personality. Researchers of motivational decisions are sometimes asked: ‘With whom would you associate this or that brand, if it was a real person?’ And buyers visualise a Mercedes in the image of a successful mid-age top executive. This brand will attract those customers, whose actual (or desired) self-image corresponds to the image created by the brand.